Over the last two years during the COVID-19 pandemic, the sport of mountain biking has seen a huge spike in numbers, leading to new economic opportunities—and challenges—for many communities in B.C.
Next month, industry stakeholders will convene for a deep-dive into the current state of mountain biking in B.C.—opportunities, challenges and all.
Hosted by the Western Canada Mountain Bike Tourism Association, (MBTA) the Mountain Bike Tourism Symposium will take place at SilverStar Mountain Resort outside of Vernon from Sept. 14 to 16.
The theme of the symposium is "Partnering for Success," and all mountain biking stakeholders and advocates are invited to attend and share their own experiences about what it takes to create a more sustainable mountain bike tourism sector.
Things kick off with a pre-symposium Trail Building Workshop from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. on Tuesday, Sept. 13, which continues into the first day of the symposium on Wednesday. Following the workshop there will be a Wednesday afternoon ride, delegation registration and a welcome reception from 7 to 10 p.m. at SilverStar resort.
Thursday and Friday each include morning and afternoon sessions with keynote speakers, panel discussions and multiple concurrent sessions, lunch and a group ride.
Thursday caps off with a pub crawl between multiple SilverStar establishments.
The Symposium wraps up on Friday at 3:45 p.m., after which the SilverStar bike park will be open to delegates.
For more info on the symposium go to mtbtourismsymposium.ca.
And for those looking to attend, registration can be found here.
